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Friday, March 30, 2012

After finding his garden too bountiful, gardener Gary Oppenheimer gave his excess harvest away to friends and neighbors, and soon that route was maxed out as well. He didn’t want to waste great food, so after donating the rest to a local women’s shelter, the idea grew to figure out a way to connect home gardeners to the food banks who are prepared to handle and distribute fresh produce.

So Gary founded AmpleHarvest.org, with a focus on doing just that, so that surplus harvest can go to hunger relief and not the compost bin. Today, from Master Gardening groups to your friends and neighbors, more people are sharing the bounty and there are some great and easy ways for you to do the same.

Monday, March 26, 2012

I completed filing our taxes on Sunday and will go running this morning in a change of schedule for this week. I ended up working during the night Saturday/Sunday morning on a DR test. Due to the missed sleep, I didn't run as I normally would on Sunday.

The temp has returned to more seasonal cool morning today. The radio announced is it 39 degrees F. A bit cooler than the 50's we started with and then got up into the 70's for much of last week.

The daffodils are up in bloom now and it is good to see some bright colors!

Sunday, March 25, 2012

A busy day on Saturday as we took in the soccer double header for the NE Revolution home opener and then followed it up with a concert at night.

The Brazilian and Canadian women's national teams played in the first game of the double header. Canada controlled the match to win 2-1.

In the second game, the Revs scored 28 second into the game and then made that score hold up to finish 1-0.

The concert at the Circle of Friends Coffeehouse featured Peter Mulvey. He had been recommended to me for sometime as well worth seeing and he was. David Goodrich accompanied Peter switching among several guitars over the course of the concert. Peter did like wise and also had a bango for one piece. Both are very good and the concert overall impressed my wife. She can be a tough sell sometimes but she admitted they knew how to play.

A sample of what they performed Saturday night can be heard via this YouTube video

If you do get a chance to hear Peter perform, it would be worth your while!

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

If you know Brian, you would agree that he is always willing to help. Monday night, as on most bottling night's, Brian is busy organizing things to ensure everyone gets what they need (clean bottles, empty boxes, etc.) so the kettles get emptied in a timely manner and then the delivery of the beer to take home can begin.

I had a roll of duct tape in the car and needed to get it to help repair a box or two. While I went to the car, Brian stepped in to my bottling station so we wouldn't miss a beat.

So just for the record, in case anyone ever doubted Brian that Brian knows how to bottle beer, the photo says it all!

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

The "Band of Brewers" bottled what we had brewed two weeks ago on Monday night. The cases of beer are now home to be enjoyed a little at a time. The group has completed 184 kettles with 105 unique beers.

Friday, March 16, 2012

I went to the Trivia Bee to take some pictures of the early rounds. As I arrived, Glenn Jones recruited me as a substitute for one of the members of the Town Council team. I hope someone got a picture of Bob Bissanti, Glenn and I on stage. As 'apolitical' as I am and need to be as an information source, that is as close as you'll see me get to a "Town Council seat".

I was able to help with some of the questions but none of us knew the two ingredients for "an Arnold Palmer drink". We went with a wild guess at 'Scotch and water' and lost. Now we know it is half ice tea and half lemon aid. After we dropped out in the 5th Round, I got called away to pick up my daughter at the train station. Maybe someone can fill us in on who won?

The "Miracles", sponsored by Tom Powderly, were the Round 2 winner by answering this question correctly: What river does the Brooklyn Bridge cross? (answer below)

The Dean College Team won Round 3 by answering the question: How many years are celebrated in a sesquicentennial? (answer below)

The Franklin School Committee won Round 4 with the answer to the question: What do you call a group of monkeys? (answer below)

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Historically Franklin's voter turn out is about 20% (of the registered voters) for a local election, about 40% for an override or debt exclusion (to raise taxes) and 80+ % for a state or national election.

These results are not what they really should be. The local election, for our town council, school committee and other elected positions occurs every two years. Some of the elected positions are every four years (Town Clerk, Treasurer/Collector). These local elections are the most important under our city form of government. Yes, even though was are "the Town of Franklin" we operate with a city form of government. We have a council where members are elected to represent the residents at large. They have final say on all budget and business matters. The School Committee governs the school budget. The Town Council can only approve at the bottom line dollar level, they can't get into the individual details, contracts, etc. of the school budget.

So these groups get elected with only a 20% turnout!

The state and national elections get a 80+ turnout and yet they have very little direct effect on the local issues. Yes, the sate aid does account for about 30% of Franklin's budget but otherwise, they have nothing to do on a day-to-day basis.

Even when it comes to raising taxes, only about 40% of the Franklin voters turn out. This vote has a direct effect on each taxpayer. Does it mean the vote doesn't matter? Does it mean that the dollars don't matter?

Trying to get the word out to keep the voters and taxpayers informed has been my mission for the past four plus years. If you have any suggestions or recommendations, please send them along. I am ready to listen.

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Out in Shepherdstown, WV this past weekend for Jonathan's funeral, I had a chance to take a walk around town on Saturday afternoon. This house has a good idea on how to handle their rain runoff with their downspout

Rather than drop it on the sidewalk, they carry it over the sidewalk to the street!

Sent to you by Steve Sherlock via Google Reader:

The undersigned are agents/brokers from some of the larger real estate brokerages in the Town of Franklin, specializing in both residential and commercial real estate sales. We are writing to explain why we support the new Franklin High School from a real estate perspective. One of the first questions every potential buyer asks us is "How is the school system?" There is an absolute, indisputable correlation between home values and school ranking. So, whether or not you have a child in the Franklin school system, this impacts every home and/or commercial business owner in the town of Franklin.

Thursday, March 01, 2012

There is snow in New England this winter. After not seeing any significant snowfall since the surprise buried us in October, we have some now. About 3-4 inches here in Franklin thus far with some light precipitation still coming down.

Yes, we did skip the Leap Day. Too much to do and so little time to do it. Hope your Leap Day was a good one!